ANTHONY JOSHUA can become “one of the greatest heavyweights ever” if he beats Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury.
AJ is set to rematch Usyk in July having been masterfully beaten by the Ukrainian in September.
Anthony Joshua is set to rematch Oleksandr Usyk in July
But Fury, 33, has maintained he will not wait around to fight the winner for all the belts, having announced his retirement.
The WBC are now set to push for a final answer from the unbeaten heavyweight champion.
And promoter Eddie Hearn believes if Fury changes his mind, and Joshua, 32, beats Usyk, 35, it can set AJ up for legacy-defining fights.
Hearn told iFL TV: “I guess he [Fury] is going to be asked, ‘Are you retiring, and if you are we need to vacate the belt’.
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“But he is not retiring and he won’t vacate the belt and that is what I expect to happen. If he does retire good luck to him.
“But I don’t think he will, I think he will fight the winner of AJ and Usyk in December.
“It will be for the undisputed championship, it will be a huge fight financially and it will be a legacy-defining fight and it will put the winner down as what we call a generational great.
“If AJ beats Usyk and then goes on to beat Fury he will go down as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
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“And if Fury beats them Fury goes down as that.”
Joshua was first beaten in June 2019 in a stunning upset against Andy Ruiz Jr, 32, in New York.
But the British superstar took the rematch to Saudi Arabia six months later and gained revenge.
With his career potentially on the line again, AJ is set to return to the desert with the hopes of doing the double in the Middle East.
Hearn said: “I think there’s a very good chance you’ll see that fight July 23 in the Middle East.
“We have had a number of offers from around the world. We have been working through those and we’re closing in on that option.
“Team Usyk have stressed that that’s the option they would prefer because obviously it’s a lot of money.
“Quite frankly I think Team Usyk would rather a neutral venue and I don’t blame them for that. So that’s where we’re at.
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“Do we announce this week? Probably not. But do we announce next week? Almost certainly.
“You will see that fight, you will see that fight in July and you’ll get an official announcement soon.”
